IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/rvmgts/v16y2022i8d10.1007_s11846-021-00507-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Institutional change of compensation policy and its impact on CEO turnover and firm performance

Author

Listed:
  • Chenli Yin

    (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)

  • Dan Li

    (Kelley School of Business, Indiana University)

  • Maria Paz Salmador

    (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)

Abstract

The existing corporate governance literature has mostly focused on micro-level studies of executive compensation, with limited attention paid to influential macro-level factors such as institutions and institutional changes and their impacts on corporate governance and performance. The implementation of the new compensation policy that restricts CEO compensation ceiling in state-owned firms in China offers an ideal context for us to study how institutional changes and firms’ adoption of these changes can influence CEO turnover and firm performance. Our empirical analyses reveal that the positive impact of new compensation policy adoption on CEO turnover is stronger for CEOs with originally higher compensation. The impact of new compensation policy adoption on firm performance, however, is negative, and the negative impact is contingent upon a firm’s market share and tech intensity. Our research contributes to the literature on corporate governance by theorizing and empirically demonstrating the critical role that institutions play in corporate governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Chenli Yin & Dan Li & Maria Paz Salmador, 2022. "Institutional change of compensation policy and its impact on CEO turnover and firm performance," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(8), pages 2527-2552, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:rvmgts:v:16:y:2022:i:8:d:10.1007_s11846-021-00507-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s11846-021-00507-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11846-021-00507-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11846-021-00507-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cole, Rebel & Mehran, Hamid, 2007. "What can we learn from privately held firms about executive compensation?," MPRA Paper 4710, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Richard A. Lambert & David F. Larcker & Keith Weigelt, 1991. "How sensitive is executive compensation to organizational size?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(5), pages 395-402, July.
    3. Christian Grund & Niels Westergaard-Nielsen, 2008. "The Dispersion of Employees' Wage Increases and Firm Performance," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 61(4), pages 485-501, July.
    4. George A. Akerlof & Janet L. Yellen, 1990. "The Fair Wage-Effort Hypothesis and Unemployment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 105(2), pages 255-283.
    5. Xiaping Cao & Michael Lemmon & Xiaofei Pan & Meijun Qian & Gary Tian, 2019. "Political Promotion, CEO Incentives, and the Relationship Between Pay and Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(7), pages 2947-2965, July.
    6. Fredrik Heyman, 2005. "Pay inequality and firm performance: evidence from matched employer-employee data," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(11), pages 1313-1327.
    7. Levine, David I., 1991. "Cohesiveness, productivity, and wage dispersion," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 237-255, March.
    8. Cosh, Andrew, 1975. "The Remuneration of Chief Executives in the United Kingdom," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 85(337), pages 75-94, March.
    9. Brian J. Hall & Jeffrey B. Liebman, 1998. "Are CEOs Really Paid Like Bureaucrats?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(3), pages 653-691.
    10. James B. Wade & Charles A. O'Reilly & Timothy G. Pollock, 2006. "Overpaid CEOs and Underpaid Managers: Fairness and Executive Compensation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(5), pages 527-544, October.
    11. Bebchuk, Lucian Arye & Fried, Jesse & Walker, David I, 2002. "Managerial Power and Rent Extraction in the Design of Executive Compensation," CEPR Discussion Papers 3558, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Firth, Michael & Leung, Tak Yan & Rui, Oliver M. & Na, Chaohong, 2015. "Relative pay and its effects on firm efficiency in a transitional economy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 59-77.
    13. Phillip J. McKnight, 1996. "An Explanation of Top Executive Pay: A UK Study," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 34(4), pages 557-566, December.
    14. Lin, Ying-Fen & Yeh, Yaying Mary Chou & Shih, Yu-Ting, 2013. "Tournament theory's perspective of executive pay gaps," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(5), pages 585-592.
    15. Shen, Wei & Gentry, Richard J. & Tosi Jr., Henry L., 2010. "The impact of pay on CEO turnover: A test of two perspectives," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(7), pages 729-734, July.
    16. Stanton, Christopher T. & Sandvik, Jason & Saouma, Richard & Seegert, Nathan, 2018. "Analyzing the Aftermath of a Compensation Reduction," CEPR Discussion Papers 13242, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Joanne Martin, 1982. "The Fairness of Earnings Differentials: An Experimental Study of the Perceptions of Blue-Collar Workers," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 17(1), pages 110-122.
    18. Michel Magnan & Sylvie St‐Onge, 2005. "The Impact of Profit Sharing on the Performance of Financial Services Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 761-791, June.
    19. Carolyn Stringer & Jeni Didham & Paul Theivananthampillai, 2011. "Motivation, pay satisfaction, and job satisfaction of front‐line employees," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(2), pages 161-179, June.
    20. Xianming Zhou, 2000. "CEO pay, firm size, and corporate performance: evidence from Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 33(1), pages 213-251, February.
    21. Leone, Andrew J. & Wu, Joanna Shuang & Zimmerman, Jerold L., 2006. "Asymmetric sensitivity of CEO cash compensation to stock returns," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 167-192, October.
    22. Bonner, Sarah E. & Sprinkle, Geoffrey B., 2002. "The effects of monetary incentives on effort and task performance: theories, evidence, and a framework for research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 27(4-5), pages 303-345.
    23. Lausten, Mette, 2002. "CEO turnover, firm performance and corporate governance: empirical evidence on Danish firms," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 391-414, March.
    24. Martin J. Conyon & Simon I. Peck & Graham V. Sadler, 2001. "Corporate tournaments and executive compensation: Evidence from the U.K," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(8), pages 805-815, August.
    25. Goyal, Vidhan K. & Park, Chul W., 2002. "Board leadership structure and CEO turnover," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 49-66, January.
    26. Francis, Arthur, 1980. "Company Objectives, Managerial Motivations and the Behaviour of Large Firms: An Empirical Test of the Theory of 'Managerial' Capitalism," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 4(4), pages 349-361, December.
    27. George‐Levi Gayle & Limor Golan & Robert A. Miller, 2015. "Promotion, Turnover, and Compensation in the Executive Labor Market," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 83, pages 2293-2369, November.
    28. Murphy, Kevin J., 1999. "Executive compensation," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 38, pages 2485-2563, Elsevier.
    29. Jesper Banghøj & Gorm Gabrielsen & Christian Petersen & Thomas Plenborg, 2010. "Determinants of executive compensation in privately held firms," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 50(3), pages 481-510, September.
    30. Joseph E. Coombs & K. Matthew Gilley, 2005. "Stakeholder management as a predictor of CEO compensation: main effects and interactions with financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(9), pages 827-840, September.
    31. Barro, Robert J. & Lee, Jong Wha, 2013. "A new data set of educational attainment in the world, 1950–2010," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 184-198.
    32. Brunello, Giorgio & Graziano, Clara & Parigi, Bruno, 2001. "Executive compensation and firm performance in Italy," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 19(1-2), pages 133-161, January.
    33. repec:bla:jfinan:v:58:y:2003:i:3:p:1301-1327 is not listed on IDEAS
    34. Jensen, Michael C & Murphy, Kevin J, 1990. "Performance Pay and Top-Management Incentives," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(2), pages 225-264, April.
    35. Brickley, James A., 2003. "Empirical research on CEO turnover and firm-performance: a discussion," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1-3), pages 227-233, December.
    36. Xianming Zhou, 2000. "CEO pay, firm size, and corporate performance: evidence from Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(1), pages 213-251, February.
    37. Chen, Wanyu (Tina) & Zhou, Gaoguang (Stephen) & Zhu, Xindong (Kevin), 2019. "CEO tenure and corporate social responsibility performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 292-302.
    38. DeFond, Mark L. & Park, Chul W., 1999. "The effect of competition on CEO turnover1," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 35-56, February.
    39. Kuo, Hsien-Chang & Lin, Dan & Lien, Donald & Wang, Lie-Huey & Yeh, Li-Jen, 2014. "Is there an inverse U-shaped relationship between pay and performance?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 347-357.
    40. Rajiv D. Banker & Danlu Bu & Mihir N. Mehta, 2016. "Pay Gap and Performance in China," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 52(3), pages 501-531, September.
    41. Michael C. Jensen & Kevin J. Murphy, 2010. "CEO Incentives—It's Not How Much You Pay, But How," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 64-76, January.
    42. Dittmann, Ingolf & Maug, Ernst & Zhang, Dan, 2011. "Restricting CEO pay," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 1200-1220, September.
    43. Kale, Jayant R. & Reis, Ebru & Venkateswaran, Anand, 2014. "Pay inequalities and managerial turnover," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 21-39.
    44. Anya Kleymenova & İrem Tuna, 2021. "Regulation of Compensation and Systemic Risk: Evidence from the UK," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 1123-1175, June.
    45. Trevor Buck & Xiaohui Liu & Rodion Skovoroda, 2008. "Top executive pay and firm performance in China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(5), pages 833-850, July.
    46. Phyllis A. Siegel & Donald C. Hambrick, 2005. "Pay Disparities Within Top Management Groups: Evidence of Harmful Effects on Performance of High-Technology Firms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(3), pages 259-274, June.
    47. Duffhues, Pieter & Kabir, Rezaul, 2008. "Is the pay-performance relationship always positive: Evidence from the Netherlands," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 45-60, February.
    48. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2485-2563 is not listed on IDEAS
    49. Ronald C. Anderson & David M. Reeb, 2003. "Founding‐Family Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from the S&P 500," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 1301-1328, June.
    50. Catherine Wolfram & Nancy L. Rose, 2000. "Has the "Million-Dollar Cap" Affected CEO Pay?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(2), pages 197-202, May.
    51. Conyon, Martin J., 1997. "Corporate governance and executive compensation," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 493-509, July.
    52. Chen, Shimin & Sun, Zheng & Tang, Song & Wu, Donghui, 2011. "Government intervention and investment efficiency: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 259-271, April.
    53. Kangtao Ye & Ran Zhang, 2011. "Do Lenders Value Corporate Social Responsibility? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(2), pages 197-206, December.
    54. Colin Green & John S. Heywood, 2008. "Does Performance Pay Increase Job Satisfaction?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 75(300), pages 710-728, November.
    55. John R. Becker‐Blease & Susan Elkinawy & Mark Stater, 2010. "The Impact Of Gender On Voluntary And Involuntary Executive Departure," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 48(4), pages 1102-1118, October.
    56. Sydney Finkelstein & Donald C. Hambrick, 1989. "Chief executive compensation: A study of the intersection of markets and political processes," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(2), pages 121-134, March.
    57. Coughlan, Anne T. & Schmidt, Ronald M., 1985. "Executive compensation, management turnover, and firm performance : An empirical investigation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(1-3), pages 43-66, April.
    58. Eric A. Fong & Vilmos F. Misangyi & Henry L. Tosi, 2010. "The effect of CEO pay deviations on CEO withdrawal, firm size, and firm profits," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(6), pages 629-651, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sun, Sophia Li & Habib, Ahsan, 2020. "Determinants and consequences of tournament incentives: A survey of the literature in accounting and finance," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    2. Humphery-Jenner, M., 2011. "Internal and External Discipline Following Securities Class Actions," Discussion Paper 2011-044, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    3. Manika Kohli, 2018. "Impact of Ownership Type and Board Characteristics on the Pay–Performance Relationship: Evidence from India," Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, , vol. 11(1), pages 1-34, June.
    4. Humphery-Jenner, M., 2011. "Internal and External Discipline Following Securities Class Actions," Other publications TiSEM 072318eb-d214-4c7a-ac7a-d, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    5. Liu Ping & Hosain Md Sajjad & Li Liyan, 2019. "Does the compensation gap between executives and staffs influence future firm performance? The moderating roles of managerial power and overconfidence," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 55(4), pages 287-318, December.
    6. Humphery-Jenner, M., 2011. "Internal and External Discipline Following Securities Class Actions," Other publications TiSEM 9bcb5c91-4bab-431f-9891-1, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    7. Jesper Banghøj & Gorm Gabrielsen & Christian Petersen & Thomas Plenborg, 2010. "Determinants of executive compensation in privately held firms," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 50(3), pages 481-510, September.
    8. Manika Kohli, 2017. "How Responsive Executive Compensation is to Corporate Performance? An Indian Perspective," Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies, Educational Research Multimedia & Publications,India, vol. 8(2), pages 07-18, May.
    9. Matousek, Roman & Tzeremes, Nickolaos G., 2016. "CEO compensation and bank efficiency: An application of conditional nonparametric frontiers," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 251(1), pages 264-273.
    10. Wang, Qiong & Qiu, Muqing, 2023. "Strength in numbers: Minority shareholders' participation and executives' pay-performance sensitivity," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    11. Kweh, Qian Long & Tebourbi, Imen & Lo, Huai-Chun & Huang, Cheng-Tsu, 2022. "CEO compensation and firm performance: Evidence from financially constrained firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    12. Humphery-Jenner, Mark L., 2012. "Internal and external discipline following securities class actions," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 151-179.
    13. Clement Olalekan Olaniyi & Olaolu Richard Olayeni, 2020. "A new perspective into the relationship between CEO pay and firm performance: evidence from Nigeria’s listed firms," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 22(2), pages 250-277, December.
    14. Clement Olalekan Olaniyi & Olufemi Bodunde Obembe & Emmanuel Oluwole Oni, 2017. "Analysis of the Nexus between CEO Pay and Performance of Non-Financial Listed Firms in Nigeria," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 29(3), pages 429-445, September.
    15. Amon Chizema & Xiaohui Liu & Jiangyong Lu & Lan Gao, 2015. "Politically connected boards and top executive pay in Chinese listed firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(6), pages 890-906, June.
    16. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2485-2563 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. James, Hui & Benson, Bradley W. & Wu, Chen (Ken), 2017. "Does CEO ownership affect payout policy? Evidence from using CEO scaled wealth-performance sensitivity," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 328-345.
    18. Piet Eichholtz & Nils Kok & Roger Otten, 2008. "Executive Compensation in UK Property Companies," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 405-426, May.
    19. Rachel Merhebi & Kerry Pattenden & Peter L. Swan & Xianming Zhou, 2006. "Australian chief executive officer remuneration: pay and performance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 46(3), pages 481-497, September.
    20. Albuquerque, Ana, 2009. "Peer firms in relative performance evaluation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 69-89, October.
    21. Ian Gregory-Smith & Brian G. M. Main, 2016. "Testing the Participation Constraint in the Executive Labour Market," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 63(4), pages 399-426, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:rvmgts:v:16:y:2022:i:8:d:10.1007_s11846-021-00507-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.